


Chronicles of Crime

by ofgodsandstars



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Mob, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Police, Angst, Arson, Assassins & Hitmen, Betrayal, Big Gay Mobsters, Blood and Violence, Complicated Relationships, Crime Fighting, Crime Scenes, Crimes & Criminals, Detectives, Drama, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Language, Fights, Fist Fights, Gang Violence, Gangs, Gangsters, Gen, Gun Violence, Han Jisung | Han & Lee Felix are Best Friends, Hurt/Comfort, Investigations, Love Triangles, M/M, Mafia AU, Making Out, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Murder, OT8, Organized Crime, Original Character(s), Other, Partner Betrayal, Past Relationship(s), Police, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Strategy & Tactics, Violence, Weapons, White Collar Crime, Yang Jeongin | I.N-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:36:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 18,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28875807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofgodsandstars/pseuds/ofgodsandstars
Summary: A crime drama themed AU where Jeongin is the mob boss of the Cicada gang, and his two right hand men, Chan and Changbin are both trying to stake their claim as the head.Throw in a mysterious member of a rival gang and a police detective who's too curious for his own good, and we have a battle of loyalties, betrayal, sex, love and angst as two gangs clash against each other and the police force.
Relationships: Bang Chan & Lee Minho | Lee Know, Bang Chan/Lee Felix, Bang Chan/Seo Changbin, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Felix
Comments: 25
Kudos: 65
Collections: Chanlix





	1. Chapter 1 - The Gangs of Beosheng

**Author's Note:**

> This is a pretty mature AU, there is violence, strong language and sexual themes as well (along with some pretty convoluted love triangles lmao)
> 
> All characters outside the SKZ ensemble are my own creation, and the city itself that they are in is fictional.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang Jeongin is a feared name amongst the underground community of Beosheng. He's merciless, ruthless and devoid of conscience.
> 
> There's a reason that he's the mob boss of one of the most dangerous gangs in Beosheng; he's cold, calculating - 
> 
> And maniacal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the first chapter! This was inspired by the Maknae on Top music video and a writing prompt on Twitter. If you want to read this AU with visuals, check out my Twitter!
> 
> https://twitter.com/neon_dreamer21/status/1351271801091891203?s=19
> 
> Inspired by this twt user's big brain idea: 
> 
> https://twitter.com/chaninahat/status/1350150469532999682?s=19

A waiter weaved his way through the fully occupied tables of La Parisienne; an up-market, classy French restaurant frequented only by the créme de la créme of society; the people with enough cash to wipe their faces with as if they were as disposable as cheap paper serviettes.

On his tray, he carried an exquisite piece of filet mignon to the table at the far end of the dining area, to the burly, severe looking man who sat alone, fingers laced together as his elbows rested on the table, staring far ahead into the distance. 

He placed the dish on the table with his usual air of etiquette and the cursory "bon appetit", not receiving a smile or thanks, and not expecting it either. These type of people weren't exactly the humble sort.

As the waiter walked away, the man delicately dug into his meat, his alert grey eyes occasionally scanning the room. With the line of business that he was in, one could never be too careful. He had 2 bodyguards stationed at the front entrance and 2 at the back. For the most part, he was safe. 

As he focused on cutting into his beef, he barely picked up on the slight disturbance in the otherwise steady white noise of cutlery against ceramic in the busy dining hall. He barely picked up on the volume of the voices dropping, of scattered hints of confused mumbling. 

It was only when he looked up that he saw him, and his stomach recoiled, almost choking up all the food that he had just swallowed. 

He sauntered in as if he owned the place, platinum blond hair slicked back, stunning gold decorating his neck and hands, a thick fur coat strewn over his shoulders more as a statement of status and power rather than for fashion or warmth. On his eyes were dark sunglasses, despite the fact that they were indoors, and that it was 9.30pm on a Saturday night. 

Mr. Yang had an effortless smirk on his face as he approached the table, settling down into the seat opposite him and crossing one leg over the other as he carelessly draped one arm over the back of his chair. 

"Akiro!" He exclaimed, taking his sunglasses off with a dramatic flourish, as if he was greeting an old friend. "Enjoying your Saturday night I see." He leaned forward, examining the dish on the table. "Hm, filet mignon, not bad, although the duck here is far better." He accentuated his statement by bringing his fingers to his mouth to imitate a chef's kiss, before raising a hand up in the air to signal for a waiter. 

Akiro lay his cutlery down, staying as calm as possible, not paying very much attention to Mr Yang's charades. "How did you get in?" He asked, maintaining an even tone, to the best of his ability at least. 

Mr Yang ignored him as the waiter came up to their table. "One scotch on the rocks please, yes on his tab," he cocked his head towards Akiro, "and while you're at it, get one for yourself too."

"Mr Yang." Akiro brought him to attention. 

"Hm? Ah yes, you must be wondering about your bodyguards." He chuckled, leaning forward, and the sound had a dangerous undertone. "They're very easy to dispose of, Akiro. You should know better than to expect mere bodyguards to be your only line of defence." 

He leaned back in his chair, his dangerously cheerful demeanour returning. "I'm hurt Akiro, I thought you'd know me better than that!"

Akiro gripped his cutlery so hard he felt he might snap his fork in two. "What do you want, Jeongin?"

A slow, calculating smirk spread across Jeongin's face. His sharp, piercing eyes narrowed, staring the bigger man down. "Where are my weapons?"

The waiter returned with his drink, and Akiro gritted his teeth until the waiter left. "Where's my money?" He spat back.

"Ah yes, about that," Jeongin said as he swirled the cubes of ice around in his stout glass of scotch, watching the golden liquid lap against the lip of the glass. "I checked with my accounts, and it seems like I've paid you not just for the last quarter, but well in advance for the next 6 months as well." 

He took a long sip, filling the air with tension, downing the drink in one shot before he turned back to face Akiro, his fingers loosely gripping the glass by its rim. "Well that sure blows your bogus story about me owing you money," his eyes narrowed into slits and his playful demeanour evaporated. "So I'm asking again, where are my weapons?"

The beef had gone cold, Akiro had lost his appetite, yet he still gripped his cutlery in his hands without even realizing it. He couldn't say a word, he just stared back. 

Jeongin shifted so that now he was leaning forward, elbows on the table, the glass still dangling from his fingertips. That crafty smirk crept back on to his face as he nodded slowly to himself. "You've switched sides, haven't you?" He pointed with his index finger, drawing patterns in the air. "I can see the mark of the Aquila clan all over your face."

Akiro could feel his heart starting to pound. "You don't want to start a gang war," he said through a clenched jaw. 

"I can start whatever the fuck I want," Jeongin replied, and there was a terrifying bite to the way he said things so calmly. "And I also /get/ whatever the fuck I want. So I don't really give a damn where your loyalties lie, but I think I'm due what you owe me." He stood up, pushing the chair back with his calves as he did so. 

"I can't supply you anymore."

"Doesn't sound like my problem now, does it?" While one hand still carelessly dangled the glass, the other shifted the heavy fur coat to reveal a gun strapped to Jeongin's hip. "I hope I'm making myself /very/ clear."

Akiro narrowed his eyes. "You cant do fuck-all in a packed restaurant Jeongin, no matter how powerful you think you are."

Jeongin smirked, huffing a small snicker under his breath, then outstretched his arm, the glass's lip pinched between his thumb and index. Without breaking eye contact, he dropped the glass, the delicate, high pitched sound of glass smashing against tile echoing faintly through the dining hall. 

And then immediately, the hum of conversation stopped. Wordlessly, all the guests began to stand up, leaving unfinished plates and glasses on their tables and filing into groups towards the exit. Following them, went the waiters and the restaurant managers, who closed the doors behind them as they left. 

"Wha-what..." Akiro looked around with a mixture of fear, dread and confusion. 

Jeongin's smirk grew wickedly wider over his face. "You see, Akiro," the back door to the kitchen opened and two men in full black suits walked in, standing behind Jeongin. Following them a mere five seconds later were a dozen other men, all similarly clad. 

"The owners of La Parisienne pay me for handling their white collar dirty work." He whipped out his gun with an exaggerated shrug that followed. "They're a perfect example of those who are loyal to the Cicada clan." He pointed the gun at Akiro.

"You will be a perfect example of those who are not."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this gritty start, gave me crime drama type feels when I was writing it.
> 
> I always love to read comments and questions, so feel free to drop them below! 💖


	2. Chapter 2 - Beosheng Police Department

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The detective who can't seem to leave well enough alone; setting into action a chain reaction of events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * place names and side characters are imagined

Felix slammed the door of his car shut as he approached the entrance to the restaurant. A team of policemen had already scoped out the area to make sure that there weren't any lingering threats. 

Along with a few police cars, an ambulance had also arrived on the scene after the police station had recieved a 911 that multiple gunshots had been heard in the area. 

Felix had his gun out just in case as he walked into the empty restaurant, up to the table at the far corner where a man was being heaved on to a stretcher. He'd been shot once in his left shoulder and both his kneecaps had been blown out so that he couldn't move. He'd been bleeding out profusely, a puddle of blood on the restaurant's pristine floor, with deep flecks against the chair and the cream coloured tablecloth, but the man was still alive. 

Felix's alert eyes roamed across the scene, a deep frown furrowing his otherwise delicate features. This was no ordinary shootout, he knew that for sure. There was broken glass crunching under his heavy boots, an unfinished glass of wine at the table, accompanied by an unfinished plate of food.  
His frown deepened as he noticed a folded piece of paper wedged under the ceramic plate.

Picking it up and unfolding it, he found a message: "you're welcome :)" was scrawled across the paper, and in the bottom right corner was a lazily drawn doodle of an insect. To anyone else, it wouldnt have been relevant, that is if they hadn't already found notes like this at dozens of crime scenes, or if they hadn't seen that exact same scribble countless times before. 

It was a drawing of a Cicada, the name of the most notorious, most powerful gang in the entire city of Beosheong. He pocketed the note discreetly- or maybe not so discreetly when a voice piped up over his shoulder. 

"You know that hiding evidence is a crime in itself, right?" 

Felix sighed, turning to the other cop. Jisung was a great detective, and had run with Felix on several cases over the past 6 years. With more organized crime happening within the city, they'd been assigned on several investigations together, and invariably got alot closer.

It wasn't a surprise when sparks eventually flew between them, but it was a flame that burned too bright and too fast. They were a brilliant team, die-hard friends, but a romantic relationship had fizzled out faster than stale gunpowder. 

He wordlessly handed the note over to Jisung, whose eyes widened with the same realisation that Felix had come to a moment earlier. He handed the note back, looking back at Felix. "I gotta say, Cicada's been better at finding drug lords and arms dealers than we are. Maybe it's time for a collab," he joked. 

"A deal went sour." Felix observed, staring at the table as if envisioning what could have happened just about half an hour earlier. "That's the only reason that we were able to get our hands on Akiro."

"Why didn't they just kill him? Seems un-ganglike to me to leave the guy alive." 

Felix shook his head. "This wasn't about violence. This was about making a statement." He turned to Jisung, "did you see the man's injuries?"

Jisung frowned, "yeah, gunshot wounds."

"A shot in the left shoulder, sound familiar?"

Jisung paused to think, his brows furrowing as he pouted, eyes staring off into the distance; the usual expression for when he thought hard about something. He then slowly nodded. "Most of the criminals we catch with that note," he cocked his head towards the paper in Felix's hand, "come in with a left shoulder wound. Cicada's brand."

"Its more than just a brand. The left shoulder is supposed to indicate closeness to the heart. The injury shows that, while they won't kill you, they'll destroy your entire empire. Remember how that entire drug network was dismantled after we found that drug lord shot in his apartment? With all his lackeys turning up dead over the following week?"

Jisung nodded slowly, "like how that money laundering front went up in flames after we found the kingpin." 

"Exactly. Akiro's kneecaps were also blown out so that he couldnt move. We were meant to find him. Killing him would just mean that somebody else would take over the business. Him being arrested means his entire business crumbles because the cops would eventually crack down on the dealings."

"Always found it hot the way you take a look at a crime scene and piece together a whole story," Jisung joked. "No wonder we ended up in your apartment on more nights than one."

Felix looked at Jisung with exasperation, but couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

"If I remember right, you were into that."

"Shut up," Felix laughed, punching him playfully on the arm, then immediately sinking back into a serious demeanour. "This was about sending a message, disrupting demand and supply. Dig into what we have on Aquila, any perps that we may still have in custody who used to work for them. I want to see if there's a connection here." 

Jisung nodded. "On it. You gonna show that note to Chief?"

"Kinda have to don't I?" He replied as he followed Jisung out of the building as the police photographers documented the scene of the crime. He paused as soon as they stepped out, looking back into the restaurant, noticing that every single table was laden with unfinished food and drink, as if people had left in a hurry. 

Understandable, if someone had suddenly opened fire inside. 

But none of the staff were anywhere in the vicinity either, and why had it been a resident that had called in the gunshots? Why hadn't one of the customers called 911? There seemed to have been plenty, considering the number of tables that seemed to have been occupied. 

Why hadn't any of the staff called 911? Surely at least a manager would have that of doing so, not to mention the kitchen staff, who were a safe distance away from the danger. There mustve been at least 5 to 6 waiters on duty too. 

So why hadn't anyone called it in?

Felix walked back inside, ignoring Jisung's confused calls behind him.  
There had to be a roster inside the restaurant's office with a breakdown of all the staff on duty that day, along with their contact details. 

There hadn't been a single witness to the crime; that had to be deliberate, and Felix was going to find out who made that possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the second chapter! The story starts to get crazy convoluted when the other characters start coming in (hehe no spoilers :3) everyones either out for blood or out for justice.
> 
> Also crime lord Jeongin is clearly no joke.


	3. Chapter 3 - Cicada

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!" 
> 
> -Walter Scott

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Diving in a little deeper into just how far Cicada will go to cover their tracks

The view over the city was almost futuristic from the penthouse suite that Jeongin owned. The skyline was a black sea interspaced with twinkling lights and the occasional brash glow of neon, painting the cityscape in the soft neo-noir glow of pink and fluorescent blue. 

Chan's phone rang in his pocket, disrupting his reverie. The number was unknown, but that was never really a surprise; the people who communicated with them particularly had burner phones anyway. 

"Yes?" Chan answered, skipping the formalities. The voice was familiar and frantic on the other side of the line, delivering a message. "Hold." He said into the phone, turning to Jeongin, who was carefully going through multiple screens of footage on a complex network of computers, along with several files and papers opened on the table, with a few of his technicians and accountants feeding him information. 

"Mr Yang," Chan approached him. Jeongin faced him and raised an eyebrow, beckoning him to continue. "It's Mr Daiki, the owner of La Parisienne. He's saying that one of his waiters has been contacted by the police in relation to what happened tonight."

Jeongin hummed, holding out his hand for the phone, which Chan passed to him. 

"Eugene!" Jeongin pressed the phone to his ear, kicking his feet up on to the table and dishevelling some files in the process. His manner was cool and upbeat in that dangerous way that his trademark carried. 

"So I hear you're facing a problem," he continued, as the voice continued on the other end. 

"The police want to investigate the shooting at the restaurant and have contacted one of my staff as a witness. I told him not to breathe a word to them until I got back to him," Mr Daiki explained on the other end. 

Jeongin hummed. "The Beosheong Police Department wouldn't let this slide even after we gave them a criminal?" He clicked his tongue. "How sad. Your waiter, does he know about your connections to us?"

"No, nothing at all."

"Good. What's the name of this inquiring officer?"

"Hold on, I wrote it down." There were a few moments of silence as the restaurateur scrambled to find the pad of paper he'd written the information down on. "Its a Senior Detective, one by the name of Lee Felix." 

Jeongin hummed again, his thumb playing absently with the gold rings on his fingers. He made eye contact with Chan, nodding to him. He barely had to speak, Chan knew what he wanted him to do; to dig up information on this detective. 

"And what's the name of your waiter, the one he called?" 

"Lee Know. He's set to visit the station tomorrow morning to speak with the detective, at 9 am."

Jeongin frowned at the odd name but rolled his eyes a moment later, it was insignificant. "Well, Eugene," he piped up, beckoning to one of his lackeys to bring him a cigar, which he slid between his lips as the man lit it for him.

"Tell this wonderful young man to be at the restaurant tomorrow at 8," He sucked in a long drag of smoke before tilting his head back and blowing a steady plume of greyish wisps into the air. 

"Because I would very much like to meet him."

~

The restaurant was to be closed for the next few days following the debacle, as La Parisienne had to do some damage control to save their public image after news of the shooting had spread. 

So it was a bit of a surprise when Lee was told to show up at work before 8 am, and even stranger when he walked in to an empty restaurant. Sharp at 8, a customer walked in, but there were no kitchen staff, no waiters except himself, no way that he could serve the man. 

"I'm sorry, but we're-"

"Lee Know, yes?" The man asked, or stated rather. He was a fairly stout man, but was incredibly well built, with a shock of short black hair falling over his eyes and a full black suit to match. 

"Yes," Lee replied slowly. "And you are?"

"Come with me." The man stated, walking past him towards the back entrance. 

By anyone else's better judgement, they would've declined, and booked it straight out of there as fast as possible. But Lee was fairly aware of what was going on here, and he knew running wasn't an option. 

He followed the man out back, to a black Cadillac that was parked in front of the alleyway leading out of the back door. 

As he reached the car, the shutter of the back seat facing him lowered, and Lee saw a familiar face. It was a man whom he'd served last night. He was hard to forget after all, what with his several gold chains and his obscene fur coat. 

Lee remembered serving the man who he'd been with as well; he'd ordered a glass of red wine and a filet mignon. He was the man who'd been shot up last night. 

"I remember you!" The man in the car exclaimed, his dark glasses hiding his eyes. His lips curved in a smirk. "Did you get yourself that scotch on the rocks then?"

"Can't drink on the job sir." 

"Hmmm," the man hummed, observing him carefully and playing with the gold rings on his hand. "I hear the police want to have a word with you, let me give you a ride to the station."

"I don't think that's necessary," Lee replied, already seeing where this was going.

"It wasn't a request." 

With that, the man in black grabbed him by his arm, leading him towards the other side of vehicle and chucking him in the backseat with the blond haired man in the fur coat. He could barely get a word in before a sack was thrust over his head and bound, and then the vehicle sped off. 

They traveled in silence, while Lee tried to memorize the route they were taking. They went straight, then a left turn....was that another left? No wait they'd taken a U-turn. Fuck. 

When the car finally stopped, the sack was pulled off his head, and when Lee looked out the window, all he saw was black.

"Now Lee," Jeongin started, taking his sunglasses off, "let's cut right to the chase,"

Right, as if we've been dancing around roses with each other all this time, Lee wanted to say, but bit his tongue. 

"What happened last night?"

For a moment, Lee was confused. "How would I know? My manager told me to leave immediately if I was to hear a glass break."

Jeongin hummed, clicking his tongue. "Now see, Lee that's exactly the kind of thing you shouldn't say. Don't you think the police would want to know /why/ everyone was to leave on a cue?"

"Yeah, they would."

"Exactly. So let me ask again, what happened last night?"

Lee pursed his lips, thinking over his words carefully. "Gunshots. Everyone left in a panic. I didn't see anything."

Jeongin clapped his hands together, laughing, and for a moment Lee really considered that this man might be slightly mad. "Brilliant! And that's all they need to know, yes?" His eyes narrowed into slits as he leaned closer. 

Lee simply nodded. 

Jeongin hummed, leaning back and opening up a pack of expensive cigarettes, lighting one and taking a long drag, the smell of smoke wafting through the car. 

"Do you know who we are, Lee?"

"Boss-" came a warning tone from one of the two men in the front. 

"Relax, Chan." Jeongin leaned forward, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and blowing smoke into Lee's face, dangling the cigarette over him as hot ash fell against his skin, burning him slightly. 

Lee flinched, and before he could react, Jeongin pressed the burning end of the cigarette against Lee's wrist. 

He cried out, trying to pull his hand away, only to have Jeongin press the cigarette butt harder against his skin. 

"Breathe a word about the restaurant code words, or my presence there last night," Jeongin's voice was dangerously low, "and the little burn on your wrist will be the sweetest pain you experience." He pulled the cigarette off, rolling the window down and throwing it outside as he sat back in his seat.

"Now then!" His voice had piped up again as he leaned back in his seat and put his sunglasses back on. "Mr Lee Know here has an important meeting to get too, we can't get him late now can we! Changbin, if you would." 

The driver stepped out of his seat, only to open the door closest to Minho to shove a sack over his head again. Within a few minutes, the car was moving again, as if nothing had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! We're starting to see just how far Jeongin is willing to go as a mafia leader, there's no fairness in crime. 
> 
> Now how did Lee Know get pulled into this whole mess, and more importantly, how is he so calm about all this? 
> 
> Stick around for more, will be posting soon!


	4. Chapter 4 - Senior Detective Lee Felix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Saw something he shouldn't have?" Felix raised an eyebrow at his colleague. "In a restaurant? What, like sneaking cocaine into the foie gras?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does Lee Know actually take Cicada's threat seriously? Or does he take it as an opportunity to spill the beans to the police?
> 
> Felix is one determined cop - but it's getting him noticed by all the wrong people.

Felix stood near the police station's coffee machine, leaning against the countertop as he waited for his drink to brew, listening to the hum-drum of noise in the background as he looked down at his own report. 

Meeting with Lee Know, a waiter from the restaurant last night, hadn't proved to be as fruitful as he had thought it would. The waiter had arrived on time, and had given very simple answers to the complex questions that Felix had running through his mind. 

"Why hadn't any of the staff called 911?" 

"Well, we were all panicking. We ran out of there as fast as we could, and I suppose a flaw on our part was expecting someone else to do the job to call the police. I'd actually thought someone had," Lee had replied. 

"Did you get a good look at the shooter?"

"I'm afraid not. When you work for an expensive restaurant, all the flashy customers look the same."

"Surely the restaurant must be having CCTV footage?"

"No, detective. After all, it's not like we would expect this to happen on the daily."

There was only one question that Felix had asked that seemed to elicit a somewhat interesting response. 

"None of the customers had made a single call in about the shooting. Any guesses as to why that might be?"

Lee had sighed. "Again," he said, "I would've thought someone would call the cops, but I suppose that didnt happen because well," he leaned back comfortably, crossing his arms over his chest. "Our clientele are the high profile types. I'm sure there's quite a few people who would've gotten their money in illegal ways. They wouldn't really have 911 on speed dial, now would they?"

When Felix had asked him to emphasise, he said he was simply speculating. There wasn't much else that he could get out of the man, so he thanked him for his time and let him go about his day. 

Still, Felix had an odd feeling about the man. Something about his demeanor was just off. He seemed far, /far/ too calm for Felix's liking, and the comment that he had made about high profile clients....there was something more to that statement that he wasn't letting on to. 

"So how'd it go?" Jisung had asked him as he walked back to his cubicle, coffee in hand.

"Nothing too great," Felix sighed. "Seems like I read into it too much. He did mention something about 'high profile clients who may have made their money illegally', how on earth would a waiter know that?"

Jisung shrugged. "I dunno, maybe he saw something he shouldn't have, got threatened maybe?"

"Saw something he shouldn't have?" Felix raised an eyebrow at his colleague. "In a restaurant? What, like sneaking cocaine into the foie gras?"

Jisung snickered. "Hey, you never know. Anyway forget about the waiter; we had an arms dealer practically gift wrapped and delivered to us. He's the one who'll have all the answers."

"Guy's still in the hospital right?" Felix asked. "Gonna be another day or two until we can actually question him."

Jisung hummed affirmatively, glancing through his own reports. The life of a detective wasn't always pumped with adrenaline- there was an unfortunate amount of paperwork involved. 

Felix slid into his seat, placing his coffee cup behind his computer on his crammed workspace as he pulled up a folder on his screen, one with a very familiar insect scrawled across the front page.

Pulling out his notebook, Felix prepared himself for a heavy day, and possibly even a heavy night ahead, on connecting the dots of the mafia that was Cicada. 

~

The sounds of a punching bag being battered echoed through the empty space of the private gym just one floor below Jeongin's apartment. 

A single light shone overhead as Chan's feet slid against the wooden floor, as he continued to pummel the punching bag, sweat dripping off his wet, purple bangs. 

He steadied the punching bag for a moment, breathing in deeply as he readjusted his posture, snapping his hips in a swift movement and swinging his left leg forward now instead of his right, with his left hand in front to correspond.

His fist met the punching bag with a renewed vigour, aggressive thoughts swimming through his head as he took out his anger on the hard surface in front of him, knuckles bruising against the impact. He stopped only when his sharp ears picked up footsteps behind him. Spending several years living in a scarlet haze of danger makes one particularly alert. 

He spun around to find Changbin approaching him, wrapping athletic tape around his knuckles. Communicating entirely in silence and just through the fact that they knew each other's habits well enough, Chan stepped away from the punching bag to face Changbin just as Changbin got into an attack stance. 

There was barely a moment's grace between switching positions before Changbin lashed out, aiming a jab directly at Chan's jaw. Chan blocked the attack, dropping and punching at Changbin's stomach, who recovered quick enough to spin around and elbow the back of Chan's head. 

Changbin was fast, but Chan was faster. He reached out and grabbed Changbin's forearm before the attack made contact, rotating his hips to add power to the flurry of punches his opposite fist now directed at Changbin's ribs.

The attacks made contact, with Changbin yelping in pain as he wrenched his arm free, moving backwards to dodged Chan's attacks, throwing his leg up high enough to land a kick on Chan's face.

Point to Changbin - he made contact. His second kick was not as successful as his first though, as when he tried aiming the flat front of his foot in a sharp kick on Chan's back, the other man took advantage of Changbin's now unequal weight distribution, sweeping his foot forward and delivering a strong kick with the back of his heel against the joint between Changbin's thigh and calf. 

Changbin crumpled under the attack, and within seconds Chan was on top of him, legs on either side of his waist, pinning him to the ground, his fist clenched and poised in the air, threatening a final attack. Chan had won this round.

Between laboured panting, Changbin chuckled. "Not bad." His fingers crept up Chan's muscular legs, lightly brushing against the flesh of his knees under the hem of his gym shorts. 

Heat simmered in the air from more than just their sparring, so Chan began to lift himself off of Changbin. The moment Changbin's legs were free, he aimed a powerful kick at an unexpected Chan's stomach, sending the man sprawling backwards against the hard wooden floor. The next thing he was aware of was Changbin hovering over him, his hand wrapped around his throat. 

"You fall for the same thing, every single time." Changbin mused, bringing his face close to him as he applied more pressure to the sides of Chan's neck, avoiding any pressure directly on his trachea - a clear indicator that he was teasing more than threatening. 

A gasp left Chan's mouth and Changbin smirked. "Oh yes, that's right," his voice was a deep, lazy drawl. "You enjoy this, don't you?" With that, be brought his lips down roughly against Chan's mouth, his fingers still wrapped tightly around Chan's neck as the other man met his lips with a similar vigour, his teeth catching on Changbin's lips with the kind of aggression that both of them liked. 

"I buy both of you platinum level suites and y'all want to fuck in the gym instead," an amused voice from the other side of the gym extinguished the heat between them, and Chan roughly pushed Changbin off of him. 

There was no love lost between them; they were neither friends, nor lovers. They just happened to both work at the same level under the same man. It wasn't that deep. 

Half hidden by the shadows with speckled light from the single overhead lamp illuminating him, Jeongin watched the two of them disentangle themselves from each other with a raised eyebrow, with one hand in his pocket and another holding a folder. 

"Mr Ya-" Chan tried to begin to explain but Jeongin waved the folder in the air to express his disinterest in the subject. "I don't care." He lazily pointed it in Changbin's direction. "Since you clearly seem to be needing some excitement, I've got a hit-job for you tonight," he said as Changbin walked up to him, taking the docket in his hands and flipping through the details on them. 

"Kan Morishuto," Jeongin drawled as he tucked his hand in his pocket, staring into the distance. "Next in line to take over the weapons dealing now that Akiro has been arrested." He turned his gaze to Changbin now, his eyes lacking any semblance of emotion or conscience. "Kill him." 

Changbin nodded, exiting the gym as Jeongin sized up Chan, idly walking towards him. "What have you found about our curious little cop?" 

"He's a Senior Detective under the Major Crimes division at the Beongsheng Police Bureau," Chan told him, wiping at the back of his head with a gym towel. "He's been with the Bureau for 6 years, with a recent involvement in organized crime over the past 3. He's closed over 33 cases in total and has been following Cicada related gang activity closely, making 10 arrests of our people over the last year itself."

Jeongin raised his eyebrows, the corners of his lips pulled down as he nodded along, Chan couldn't tell if he was genuinely impressed by this cop's track record or whether he was feigning it. Then again, when it came to Jeongin's reactions, nobody really knew anything. 

"Smart kid," Jeongin commented. "Would really be a shame if he dug any further, now wouldn't it?"

He sighed dramatically, as if the next words weighed heavily on his non existent conscience. "What a crime it would be to have to rid the Beongsheng Police Department of one of it's best officers, ah I don't think I have the heart." He lifted his hand to his chest for dramatic effect, before his tone switched instantaneously, not missing a beat. 

"Popping a cop is not the smartest move, but maybe a little warning, what do you say, Chan, hm?" His voice was lower now, grim, dangerous.

Chan nodded as he continued. "Something to give him a couple nightmares, scare the man, you know what I'm saying? Give him enough reason to turn a blind eye to Cicada." He clapped Chan on the shoulder before turning around, his words echoing through the gym as he walked away.

"And if that doesn't work, well then we'll just have to make him Beosheng PD's latest homicide case."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So why exactly had Lee been quiet about everything? If he was truly threatened, how was he able to stay so calm?
> 
> Also Jeongin does NOT play around. Chan and Changbin may have some bit of humanity left but Jeongin is a stone cold killer. Gotta love the psychopath's dry sense of humour though! 
> 
> Now most importantly, what exactly is Chan going to do to Felix?


	5. Chapter 5 - Aquila

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the head of the table was a man you'd never think was the head of Aquila. He looked more like a runway model than a mob boss, with his carefully sculpted face and long blond hair half tied up as his piercing dark eyes questioned who DARED disturb him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people certainly are lots more than they appear to be ;)

Lee had left the station disgruntled, but made a careful attempt not to show it. The detective had actually been asking all the right questions, a little bit too smart for his own good. 

The corner of his mouth quirked up unconsciously as Lee thought of how close Felix had been to unravelling it all, he could've spilled all the details, even the ones Felix hadn't thought to ask about, but maybe another time. The endgame here was a different play.

The day after Lee's visit to the police station, he drive towards the underworld capital of Beosheng, the uglier side of the city, the "bad neighbourhood".

He came to a massive building that was an urban mix of glass and concrete, a structure that was once a mall and city centre but had been long abandoned. Now it was just a skeleton of a commercial hub occupied only by the ghosts of the past, occasional squatters and teenagers who liked to visit to graffiti the walls with brash reds and obnoxious greens. 

He parked his car in a garage that was strangely maintained given the fact that the building itself hadnt been touched in years. Of course, nobody was really going to come poking around and asking questions. 

Behind an inconspicuous old, rackety door that looked like it led to a less than pleasant broom closet was a fully functioning elevator, one that could only be activated by first punching in a specific code before you could press a button to a desired floor. 

This was second nature to Lee, as he punched in the code that took him all the way down to the basement. Like the rest of the building, the main landing to the basement was old and derelict, with pieces of plaster peeling off the walls and cobwebs hanging from the ceilings, with the musty smell of rot and decay clouding the air. 

But Lee knew where to go. All he had to do was cross the large expanse of empty space and down a long corridor at the end. Nobody in their right mind would ever think of walking through the dark, decrepit corridor, it didn't seem like there was anything on the other end after all. 

But there was. There were a huge set of massive steel doors, and a pair of buffed up men like bouncers stood at the front. Lee gave them a nod, pressing his hand to the biometric scanner that opened the doors for him. 

What lay inside was a stark contrast from the crumbling exterior. It was a large air conditioned area, with the walls and floor a futuristic blend of steel, brick and concrete. The main section branched off into different rooms, but Lee had his eyes trained on the one straight down the expanse of the room.

Throwing open the doors without much of a care, he was met with multiple pairs of eyes fixing themselves on to him; the conversation around the meeting room table dropping to a quiet hum, and then to nothing. 

At the head of the table was a man you'd never think was the head of Aquila. He looked more like a runway model than a mob boss, with his carefully sculpted face and long blond hair half tied up as his piercing dark eyes questioned who /dared/ disturb him.

Hyunjin's good looks and charm were only part of how he had risen to the top after their previous leader was killed. Behind the devilishly handsome face was a level of  
intelligence that was even more lethal. 

The fact that he was the one who had masterminded the murder of their previous boss was a testament to that. 

Without removing his eyes from Lee, he waved his hand at the rest of the people at the table, who exchanged confused looks before packing up their files and papers and leaving the room. 

Hyunjin pushed back his chair, taking his empty glass and walking up to the cabinet of expensive liquor just a few paces away. "Want anything?" He called out, pouring himself some whiskey. 

"Whatever you're having," Lee replied, sitting down at the table and propping his feet up, leaning back and closing his eyes with his hands laced behind his head. 

"Feet off my table Minho, that's a fucking antique," Hyunjin complained as he walked over to his side, thrusting a glass in his face. He smirked, taking the glass and sipping at the smoky liquid. "You know, I've been under this Lee Know alias for so long, my own name feels foreign to me."

Hyunjin snorted, taking a sip of his own drink as he leaned on the table in front of Minho. "Infiltrating La Parisienne was your idea."

"So was getting ahold of Akiro."

"Well that didn't work out too great, did it?" Hyunjin gracefully lay his glass down on the table and folded his arms. "Morishuto's body turned up this morning."

Minho perked up, dropping his feet off the table and looking up at Hyunjin. "Kan Morishuto is dead?"

Hyunjin nodded. "Killed last night by those Cicada fuckers. You know what happens now."

The gears in Minho's brain started turning. "They're going to kill everyone in the dealing ring. Fuck is Akiro still alive?"

Hyunjin just watched him, letting Minho do the thinking and talking for him. He knew they were on the same page, but honestly, he couldn't be bothered. What was the point in saying anything if Minho was going to agree anyway?

"If he's still alive he's going to talk. Fuck exposing Cicada, he'll expose us as well." 

Hyunjin cocked his head to a side, still not saying anything. 

"He needs to turn up dead within the next two days at least." Minho was about to stand up, but Hyunjin gracefully plucked the glass from his fingers and pushed him back into his chair, then leaned in much closer. 

"You're forgetting one important thing, pretty boy." His voice was deep and low as he leaned in, the smell of whiskey swamping Minho's senses.

Not that this particularly had an effect on him. He was about as afraid of Hyunjin as Hyunjin was afraid of him. Both of them would pull the trigger on the other without a second thought if needs be. It was all purely business. 

Minho raised an eyebrow at him, an almost bored expression on his face. His emotions were so dulled it bordered on psychopathy. 

"Our weapons, sweetheart," Hyunjin said in a sing songy voice, leaning back and sitting on the table as he swung one leg over the other and picked up his glass again.

"Before you kill the man," he swirled the deep amber liquid in his glass before taking a sip, "find out where the weapons are stored. Not like he has anything to lose, his associates are all going to turn up dead anyway." He finished dismissively. 

Minho hummed in agreement, leaning back in his seat and downing his own whiskey. "Dead by tonight?" He asked, as casually as he would ask about grocery shopping.

"After you get the information, obviously. Sources say he's at Beosheng Central Hospital under police surveillance."

Minho scoffed, his small huff of laughter turning into a chuckle. As far as he was concerned, that didn't even pose a challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Minho is a member of Aquila! That's why he wasn't intimidated by Cicada, he knew how these gangs worked, not to mention he's one of their hitmen.
> 
> Also Hyunjin head of Aquila kind of fell naturally into place, just sort of made sense to me. 
> 
> Interested to see just how Minho manages to get the job done? Or wait - does he? 👀


	6. Chapter 6 - Repercussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To anyone else, this wouldve immediately given way to immediate panic, but Felix had signed up for this when he got his badge. This was part of the job, and he didn't have time for panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felix has been digging a lot into Cicada's activities, now it wouldn't really make sense for a gang to leave him alone when he does, would it?

Felix had spent the entirety of the previous night digging into Cicada's activities. Their fronts, their schemes, testimonies from perps they'd managed to arrest; which were few and far between considering the amount of ex gang members who'd turned up dead in their holding cells. How, the police still didnt know. 

He was exhausted the next morning as he left his apartment, bumping roughly into one of his neighbours right after locking his door and apologising profusely as he helped him pick up the belongings that were now scattered on the floor. 

Now Felix was a good detective, brilliant in fact, which was why he immediately started noticing that something wasn't right. When he left his apartment building, he'd noticed a black Cadillac parked a few metres away, one he hadn't seen before. 

He didn't pay it much attention, figuring someone in the area must've just gotten a new car, but it started to get a bit suspicious when he noticed the same vehicle parked a few feet away from the police station that day when he'd stepped out for lunch. 

It was the same number plate. Felix wasn't a fool - he paid attention to these things. 

With a team working the Morishuto case, which to no surprise, pointed towards Cicada again, Felix clocked out early, figuring that there wasn't much he could contribute. He'd done his fair share the night before. 

As he drove home, he glanced in his rearview mirror, and there it was. 

The black Cadillac. 

To anyone else, this wouldve immediately given way to immediate panic, but Felix had signed up for this when he got his badge. This was part of the job, and he didn't have time for panic.

Before he jumped to conclusions, Felix took a left turn at the next intersection, glancing in the mirror to see if the Cadillac did the same, which it did. 

1 turn had been followed. 

At the next intersection, Felix turned left again, and once more, the car followed. 

2 left turns. 

At this point there was a faint sense of fight or flight kicking in. He waited for the next intersection before making a decision. At this point he was off his usual route home, but that wasn't the priority right now.

The third intersection came up, and once more, with Felix's left turn, the black Cadillac followed. 

3 left turns. Almost a full circle and the car hadn't dropped off.

Felix glanced quickly in the rear view mirror, then pulled out his phone, quickly dialing in Jisung's number. 

"Yeah?" Came the familiar voice, only a few seconds later. 

"Ji," Felix said, the seriousness in his voice already alerting Jisung that something wasn't right. "You still at the office?"

"Uh, yeah, what's up?"

"I need you to run a plate for me."

On the other end, Jisung frowned slightly, but pushed himself away from a communal table as the wheels of his office chair carried him towards his own desk. 

"Tell me."

Felix took his eyes off the road for a second, squinting in the rearview mirror.

"SK-0325Z," he enunciated carefully. 

Jisung balanced the phone between his head and his shoulder, squeezing it to his ear as he tapped away at his keyboard, typing the number plate into the system on his computer as he absent mindedly repeated it under his breath. 

Jisung frowned as the system buffered. Felix couldn't have gotten home already, why was he having plates run? "Wait Lix, where are you?"

By now Felix had taken the fourth left turn, completing a whole circle, and the car was still following him.

"On my way home." 

Jisung's eyes widened as the name of the company under which the number plate was registered popped up on the screen. He leaned forward, "Fuck."

"What is it Jisung?"

"Remember Niorun Ceramics and Sanitaryware? The money laundering front for Cicada that went up in flames?"

"I'm guessing they're the registered owners of the car that's following me," Felix deduced. 

"There's a fucking car following you?!" Jisung yelled into the phone, shooting up from his seat and searching for his keys to go after Felix.

"Ji, relax." Felix's tone was calm. "I'm almost home and the car isnt following me anymore. I'm fine." It was the truth, as Felix got closer to home, the car dropped off the trail.

Not that it made Felix feel any better, it only confirmed his suspicion that his stalker knew where he lived. 

"Lix I'm coming over-"

"No, Jisung, don't." 

Jisung knew that tone. The calm, clipped, authoritative tone. He stopped in the middle of putting his jacket on. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Whatever was going on, Felix wasn't getting Jisung dragged into it too. "I'll drop you a message when I'm home. You stay put." 

All Jisung could do was sigh and slump back down in his seat. "Ok." 

Felix cut the line, pocketing his phone and turning into the communal garage. He had scoped the area as he turned in, and there was no sign of the black Cadillac.

But Felix wasn't taking any chances. He stepped out of his car cautiously, his gun in hand as he carefully made his way up the stairs to his apartment. When he came down the corridor of his floor, he fumbled through his pockets for his keys, but his hand turned up empty. 

Fuck, where were his keys?

Did he leave them at the station? He couldn't have, he didnt take them out of his pocket in the first place, they couldn't have fallen out either, his combat pants had a zipped pocket in which he always put his car and apartment keys. 

It was only when he stood right outside his door that he saw his apartment keys on the floor, under the little table right outside of his apartment with the little potted plant on top. He then remembered his collision with that man in the morning, he must've dropped it then.

Carefully, hand still on the gun, eyes and ears still aware, he bent down to pick up his key, and as he was about to slot it into the lock, he noticed the thin film of light filtering into the corridor from the slight crack between the bottom of his door and the ground. 

Felix hadn't left any lights on. 

His heart was beginning to thunder in his chest. His suspicions were never paranoia, and this was a prime example of it. Still clasping the gun, he tried the doorknob with his other hand, and he wasn't surprised to find it unlocked. 

He turned the knob fully and pushed the door open, brandishing the gun in front of him, only to find a man inside mirroring his stance, one hand pointing a gun at him and the other casually in his pocket. 

They both stood in silence, guns pointed at each other, both locked and loaded and ready to shoot.

The man smirked, unmoving. "Welcome home, Felix."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felix has managed to find himself in the very crosshairs of this whole operation. Who did Cicada send after him? Has Felix crossed the line too far?
> 
> Maybe he should've let Jisung come to him after all.


	7. Chapter 7 - Tying Up Loose Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aquila had blueprints of all the major buildings in Beosheng, including the hospital. He made a quick, inconspicuous right turn towards a flight of stairs, his watchful eyes on constant alert for any security cameras that may follow him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought Jeongin was dangerous? Wait til you see what Minho is capable of

The whole operation was almost too easy for Minho. He'd carried out similar hits multiple times before, so this was nothing new. He stepped out of a hired car with a briefcase in hand, glasses perched on his nose and a long white lab coat trailing behind him. Pinned on to the lapel of the coat was a little gold name tag with "Dr Kim" embellished on it. 

He walked into the hospital, greeting nurses and other doctors with a bright smile and an inclined head, as if he belonged there. As expected, the hospital staff smiled back, believing him to simply be a new doctor on duty at Beosheong Central. 

It was around 8.00pm, a mere few hours after Minho's meeting with Hyunjin. Aquila had blueprints of all the major buildings in Beosheng, including the hospital. He made a quick, inconspicuous right turn towards a flight of stairs, his watchful eyes on constant alert for any security cameras that may follow him. 

He knew that the fire alarm system of the hospital was not manual, the alarm would only go off if the smoke detectors were activated. Minho trotted up the flight of stairs, slowly taking a smoke bomb out of his briefcase.

Noticing that this floor was not as busy as the others, and quite empty for the most part, he activated and rolled the smoke bomb across the marble floor, under a set of steel chairs near the reception, watching the smoke burst out of it with a barely audible hiss and waft towards the ceilings. 

As he hurried back down the stairs, he heard the tell-tale sound of the smoke detectors going off. 

When he reached the floor he had originally walked in to, which was the floor Akiro was on, there was already a sense of confusion settling in. Making a left turn towards a set of wards, he dropped another smoke bomb behind a vending machine, and then another one, a little further, near the cafeteria. 

The fire alarms had now gone off, and panic was starting to build, just he had planned. With the smoke rising, nobody even questioned it to be a false alarm. He took a vial and a syringe out of his briefcase, along with his gun, and then tossed the briefcase into a bin reserved for bio-waste.

He joined a fray of nurses, mimicking their panic, and with his good looks and charisma, managed to get a few to follow him towards Akiro's guarded room. 

"Riley," Minho coated his voice in sugar as he spoke to one of the worried nurses who were with him, hurriedly taking her hand in his. He said the woman's name with a sense of familiarity and urgency, and the nurse, in her panic, had thought that she'd therefore worked with the 'doctor' before, not realising he'd simply spared a quick look at her name tag. 

"You need to get the policemen out, ok? We need to get everyone evacuated. I'll run into the ward to quickly check the patient's vitals and get him out too." He squeezed her hand, looking into her eyes as if he was trying to calm her down. "Can you do that for me?"

The nurse nodded hurriedly, feeling reassured by the 'doctor' in her state of panic. She passed on the instruction to the other nurses, and they all began to usher the guards out as Minho acted like a worried doctor running in to check on a patient. 

He smirked as he saw the policemen leaving with the nurses, no questions asked. He scoffed, they really weren't as smart as they thought. 

He locked the door behind him, his eyes meeting Akiro's. The man was already sitting up in bed, in his own panic about a potential fire. At first he looked at the doctor in the room with a sense of relief, but as he noticed the man's smirk and slow, calculated movements, he froze. 

"Akiro," Minho drawled his name, pulling his gun out and pointing it at the man. Not that it changed anything, Akiro couldn't escape anyway - his knees were blown out. 

"Cicada or Aquila?" He asked Minho, eyes narrowed. 

"Hm, doesn't really matter now does it?" He came closer and pressed the gun against Akiro's forehead, pushing him back against the hospital bed. 

"Where are the weapons Akiro?" He cocked the gun, the sound indicating to Akiro that he wasn't playing around. 

"I have nothing to lose!" The man spat. "What makes you think I'll tell you? Kill me for all I care." 

Minho flicked out a knife from his pocket, then held the blade against the man's neck. "Oh I'll kill you alright. Painfully, if you don't tell me what I need to know." 

He pressed the sharp edge against the weapons dealer's throat, and could feel the man tense up. 

"Ok ok!" He pleaded, holding his hands up. "Santano Theatre! I own it! The weapons are all hidden in props backstage, that's where they are!"

Minho smirked, easing the gun away from Akiro's head. He saw the way the man relaxed slightly, now confident that his life would be spared.

Ha. Fool.

"And does the police know about this, Akiro?" Minho asked, faux sweetness dripping from his voice as he pushed back the man's sweaty bangs with the tip of his gun.

"N-no," he stammered, "they haven't questioned me yet."

"Hmm, and you won't be telling them about any of this, yes?"

"Not a word." He swore. 

"Good, good." Minho pulled back the knife, flicking the blade into its cover and popping it back into his pocket. 

"But just to make sure," he pulled out the syringe, and before Akiro noticed what was happening, Minho pulled out his IV and jabbed the needle into the same opening. This way, other points of needle entry wouldn't show on an autopsy. 

Barely a minute, and Akiro began to jerk violently, the chemical spreading through his veins, inducing a fatal heart attack. Minho watched the man struggle impassively, eyes flitting to the heart monitor near the bed. 

The monotonous beep that filled the room in a few minutes told him all he needed to know. 

Akiro was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't kidding when I said Minho's emotions were so dulled it was almost psychopathic; man's capable of anything.  
> Maybe there IS a weakness that he does have though....


	8. Chapter 8 - A Deal With the Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You think I'm here alone, Felix? One step out of that door with me in cuffs and that'll be the last step you ever take."

Felix didn't move. He kept his gun trained on the stranger in his apartment, whom, at this point, he knew without a doubt, was sent by Cicada. 

The man jutted his chin out towards the door. "Close it behind you."

"What the fuck makes you think I'm going to do that?"

The man sighed, as if bored by this exchange, and simply cocked his gun while he kept it trained on Felix. "I'm not playing, Felix."

Felix cocked his own gun, not dropping his steely gaze on the purple haired man. "Neither am I."

Chan lifted an eyebrow at Felix, his eyes flitting to the door. "Sure would be a shame if one of your neighbours happened to see," he sighed. "You wouldn't want to drag them down with you, now would you?"

Felix gritted his teeth, then kicked the door shut behind him. Chan smirked. 

"You know I could arrest you right now, right? You're basically hand delivering yourself to me."

Chan huffed a chuckle under his breath. "You think I'm here alone, Felix? One step out of that door with me in cuffs and that'll be the last step you ever take."

Of course, he was bluffing, but Felix didn't know that.

"Besides," he flicked his finger against the trigger guard, emptying the gun of its bullets, then holding the bullets in one hand and the gun in the other as he slowly lowered himself to the ground. 

"I'm here to talk," he said, as he placed the gun on the ground in front of him and scattered the bullets across the wooden floor before standing up.

Felix scoffed, still not flinching. "I'm not about to make a deal with the devil."

"I'm not the devil, Detective, simply his messenger, and believe me, I'm risking my own life having this conversation with you." 

"Then why are you?" Felix narrowed his eyes. 

Chan raised his eyebrow, crossing his arms and leaning against the back of the sofa behind him. "Because I think you and I share a common interest."

"And what's that?"

"Taking down Cicada."

Felix laughed. "And I'm really supposed to believe that bullshit?"

"Well you're a good cop," Chan spread his arms as he animated his point, "after all you have a stunning record. Ah, that's right Felix, I've done my fair share of research on you. 33 closed cases, top of your batch at the Academy, your partner is, hm wait," he tapped his index finger against his lips, mimicking deep thought. 

"Ah yes, Han Jisung, isnt it?"

"You leave him out of this." Felix gritted his teeth and tightened his hold on the gun.

"I intend to." Chan's voice had dropped an octave. "The organization isnt interested in him, only in the cop with enough brains to figure out that La Parisienne was in on the whole debacle that day."

Felix frowned. "What?"

Chan smirked, crossing his arms over his chest again. "Since I'm feeling generous, maybe I'll give you a little tid bit of information, but please, lower the gun first. It's not like you can shoot me anyway."

"You're a gang member trespassing in my apartment."

"Unarmed. And shooting me would be unprovoked. I'm no cop but I know the law, Felix. I break it on a daily basis after all."

"I have surveillance footage of you breaking into my apartment. Even if you get away today-"

"Oh you mean the hidden camera in the flower pot outside and the cameras you have on your balcony?" 

Felix froze, and Chan laughed. "Maybe next time pay a little attention to the men you bump into early morning. Missed your keys today, didn't you?"

"That was YOU?!"

Chan's laughter died down to a dangerous hum. "You may have noticed the black Cadillac following you today, Felix. You may have also found out the company it was registered under. But believe me, that's all only because I made it painfully obvious for you. If I wanted you dead, you would be." 

He pushed himself off the back of the sofa, inching closer to Felix. "However, I'm here to make you an offer that will benefit us both. Now do you want to take down Cicada, or not?"

"What's in it for you?" 

"Maybe I'm sick of the leadership. Speaking of, cooperate with me, and I'll hand you the boss on a silver platter." 

There was a bigger play here, Felix knew that, but the circumstances were anything but ordinary. The gangster was right, if they wanted him dead, he would be. As much as Felix hated to admit that, he knew he was right. 

He took a step back from the man, lowering his gun only slightly. "Take your jacket off."

Chan raised his eyebrows in amusement, but did as he was told. "Anything else you want me to take off?"

Felix ignored him. "Toss it to me. Then keep your hands in the air."

Felix kept his gun trained on the man, rummaging through the pockets of the jacket, in which he found another gun, and a few knives. "Unarmed huh?"

Chan shrugged. "You never asked." 

Felix stepped closer, putting his gun back into the holster and padding his hands along Chan's body, checking for any more concealed weapons. 

"You done feeling me up?" Chan asked after a few seconds, as Felix's hands swept across his pockets. "Not that I'm not enjoying it-" 

"Oh for fuck's sake, shut up."

Chan smirked. Felix drew back and crossed his arms over his chest as he sized him up. "So what if I don't agree to this?"

"Well, then I'm just going to have to do what the organization told me to do."

"And that is?"

Chan put his hands in his pockets, leaned back against the wall lazily and shrugged. "They wanted me to do enough to scare you off the case. Believe me, you're getting off easy, you wouldn't want my partner coming after you; Changbin's a stone cold killer."

Felix took a moment to ponder over it. "And if I do agree to this? What end of the bargain do I have to hold up?"

"Glad you asked. All you have to do is turn a blind eye to a few of Cicada's operations, and in return, I'll lead you to some of the biggest underworld arrests of your career, including the Head of Cicada. You also have my protection against the rest of the gang."

Felix's brow was furrowed, still thinking this over. He could lose his job if anyone found out he was in cahoots with a gang. Then again, he was sure several detectives before him must've done similar things for the greater good. 

As if reading his thoughts, Chan snickered. "Don't worry, I want to keep this as much of a secret as you do. Nobody will find out."

"You're positive?"

He nodded. 

Just then, Felix's phone beeped with a message. Still cautiously glancing at Chan, he whipped his phone out, looking at the screen. His mouth fell open in shock at the message that Jisung had sent him. 

"No way..."

"Akiro is dead, isn't he?"

Felix looked up at Chan, anger starting to colour his features before Chan calmly held a hand up. "That's Aquila, not us. They would've panicked after Morishuto was killed." 

"Shit," Felix muttered under his breath. "I need to get to the scene."

"Before you do," Chan bent down to retrieve his jacket and his weapons. "Do we have a deal?"

Felix paused to study the hand that was now outstretched in front of him, and the potential opportunity that lay ahead. He clasped his hand.

"Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we finally get Felix and Chan's meeting! Hehehehe yes the lil determined detective has now officially gotten himself right into the thick of things with the very gang he's after.
> 
> But what are Chan's real ulterior motives?


	9. Chapter 9 - Lee Minho

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I left to protect you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lee Minho may be a steel-blooded killer when he needs to be, but there's more to this man than meets the eye.

Minho had been more than pleased with the way that the entire operation had gone with Akiro. The next day when he had turned up at the Aquila headquarters, there wasn't a single word carried by the media about Akiro's death. This just cemented that he had been successful. With no hard evidence left behind of homicide, there was no way to prove that Akiro hadn't died of natural causes, and in this case, the chemical Minho had administered had easily seeped into his bloodstream and caused failure of his vital organs. 

"All well and good," Hyunjin had said that day as Minho sat opposite him, lazily swishing around the contents of his usual whiskey. "But did you get the information?"

Minho cocked an eyebrow at him, wordlessly. He knew that Hyunjin was aware of what he wanted, and he wasn't breathing a word until he got it. 

They attempted to stare each other down for a while until Hyunjin gave up. He'd dealt with Minho for years now, he knew that all he wanted was his cut of cash for every job executed. The man was kept to himself enough, didnt ask too many questions, didn't say too much either. An odd character, but this was a gang, after all. None of them were exactly 'normal'.

It was only after Hyunjin had given Minho the money he wanted that the man told him about Santano Theatre. Plans were being made to storm the place in a few days but in the meantime, Minho had plans of his own.

Now, Minho was desensitized to a lot of things. Having being involved in gang activity from the time he was a teenager, there was very little he hadnt seen, even less so that he hadnt done. His emotions were in fact dulled, in all aspects except one. 

His detailed, elaborate plans are what made it so successful for him to make it into the upmarket apartment building, renting an apartment for a whole month under a different name for the sole purpose of meeting one person, and that too, just once. 

The apartment he rented was empty, just a placeholder to get him into the building without gangs or cops knowing he was there. That one day, when he finally got the money he was after, was the day he'd visit him. 

That is, if breaking into someone's apartment is your idea of a visit.

It's not like Seungmin would mind, he only got to see his brother 4 to 5 times a year. Any time they got together was a blessing. 

The story behind the two brothers is a convoluted one. Minho was 9 years old when Seungmin was born, the son of his father and some woman whom Minho had hoped would be the mother that he never had. 

But just like his mother had left, so did she, and even in his youth, he couldn't blame her. Like Minho was today, his father had been involved in gang activity too, the only difference was that his father was wrapped up in greed and sleaziness and violence like a stench that never left. 

When his father left one night and never returned, it had fallen all on Minho's head to take care of himself and his 6 year old brother, Seungmin. He took care of the two of them with whatever money his father had left behind, but when that trickle of finances ran dry, he had to turn to something else.

So he turned to what he'd known best his whole life. 

Crime. 

It had started with odd jobs and favours for Aquila, earning him enough cash to look after their family of two. But as Seungmin got older, the expenses increased, and as Minho got older, his jobs grew more serious. 

It was not just his life in danger, it was Seungmin's. So when Seungmin was 13 years old, Minho removed himself from the picture, acting only as a shadow guardian, sending Seungmin money for school, food and rent, and watching from the sidelines to make sure his brother was ok. 

He'd pop by to visit every now and then, but not enough to draw attention. Aquila had now absorbed him as a member, and as far as they were concerned, Minho had no family. 

He made sure that Seungmin made that very clear to everyone he knew as well.

So when the now 19 year old Seungmin walked into his usually empty apartment to find his brother casually watching TV with a bowl of chips in his hand, he almost screamed. 

"Holy fuck Minho-" he dropped his keys and almost screamed seeing his brother lounging on a beanbag in his living room. 

"Jeez you- can't you give me some signal when you're coming to see me? God..." he muttered under his breath as he locked the apartment door behind him. 

"Good to see you too Seung," Minho smirked, hoisting himself out of the beanbag to give his brother a hug. Seungmin hugged back tighter than he would care to admit. He only wished that this didnt have to be the way that Minho made money. He missed him, so much. 

Minho drew back and fell back on the beanbag, pointing absently to the wads of cash on the table while keeping his eyes focused on the TV.

"That's your tuition for the term and rent for the next 3 months, with some extra cash for you to blow however you like," Minho told him in between the crunching sounds of the crisps between his teeth.

Seungmin picked up a stack of cash and turned it over in his hands wordlessly, his thoughts clearly a million miles away. Minho caught on to his unnatural silence and watched him, his hand stilling in the bowl of crisps. 

When he didn't say anything, Minho took the initiative. "What?"

"I'll be graduating soon, Minho," Seungmin looked up at him. "Do you think you'll even be able to make it for my graduation?"

In his gut, Minho felt a twinge of....to be honest he really didnt know what to label the feeling as. Guilt? Regret? The yearning to just live a normal life? Sympathy for his brother? 

He swallowed, blinking a few times as he tried to find the right words. It was the only time his face ever betrayed any emotion. 

Seungmin didnt wait for an answer, in fact he didnt even have to ask in the first place, because he knew. "I'm going to start working soon," he placed the wad of cash back on the table and sank to the ground next to Minho.

"I'll have a job, and we both know you've got tons of money saved up already from," he shook his head. "Honestly, I don't want to know what you do to get it, but we both know we have enough money."

"You don't," he took Minho's hands in his, gripping them like he was scared that Minho would waft away into the air at any second. "You dont have to keep doing this Minho. I miss you. It's been 6 years and I see your face once every few months. I want us to be family again."

I want us to be family again. 

The words bit like hot coal against Minho's otherwise arctic heart. A tear, which seldom appeared, pricked against his eye as he put down the bowl of crisps and pulled his younger brother into his arms, hugging him tight. 

It was then that that single tear rolled down his cheek. 

"Its not just a job, Seung," he said as he pulled away. "I cant just....'leave'. Nobody 'leaves' a mob." He huffed a mirthless laugh. "You do want me back alive, after all."

Seungmin slumped slightly, hoping his brother wouldnt notice, but he did. He leaned back against the coffee table with his lips in a tight line. "So when do I get you back Min? Will life ever go back to normal? I know you started doing this to take care of us but....I'm not a kid anymore."

"Seung, I told you, I can't just leave."

"But you left me. Was that easier then?"

Minho felt like he'd been slapped across the face with that comment. He looked at Seungmin, dumbfounded, and a little offended. 

"Seungmin I left because I had gotten in way too deep with the gang! Being with you was too dangerous, not for me, for YOU."

His voice was slowly getting more aggravated. "Do you have any idea what would happen if they knew I had family? Seungmin I wouldnt be able to take even the tiniest step out of line, make he tiniest mistake without them threatening to hurt you."

He was gesturing wildly, pulling at his hair without even realising it, his body was getting uncomfortably warm and his heart was pounding. Minho never lost his temper, never got emotional, but his brother was his one weakness. 

"I left to protect you."

Seungmin opened his mouth to retort but Minho held his finger out as a sign to stop him from talking. "And don't even THINK about saying you can protect yourself. You don't know the mob, you don't know what they're capable of."

Seungmin shut his mouth as quickly as he opened it, knowing his brother made sense. Moments of silence passed between them as Minho regained his composure and Seungmin stared down at his sneakers. 

"Will I ever get you back?" He asked softly, looking up at Minho now with tears in his eyes. "Ever?"

I don't know, Minho wanted to say. He really didn't. He started to question if he really even wanted to be in the gang anymore, was the money really worth it?

He sank down to the ground to join his brother, gently pulling him closer as he cradled his head to his chest as the younger boy held on to him.

Did he really want to keep living like this?

In those few moments, Minho decided he wanted his family back, it had been long enough. The vulnerable version of him that came out rarely and only around Seungmin sank right back into Minho, like a cocoon that was closing itself. 

In its place was the steely eyed, blank faced Minho, a man with ruthlessness in his heart and a plan on his mind. 

Santano Theatre was the key. He was going to start a gang war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so wholesome for me to write, but also a little sad. This is only the gist of Minho's backstory, he had a hard life and a decision full of love and the need to protect Seungmin is ultimately what made him so heartless. 
> 
> But Minho isn't as far gone as you would think. Those who turn to the dark with good intentions can always be redeemed.


	10. Chapter 10 - Troubled Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You want to play Russian roulette, doll?" He pressed the gun deeper against his chest, spitting the next words out through gritted teeth. "Let's fucking play."

Blood dripped from the man's nose as Changbin's steal knuckle-dusters came into contact with his face again. He would've fallen backwards off the chair if not for the fact that Chan was holding it firmly, and of course the fact that the man was fully tied down. 

"Changbin," Chan grimaced. "Blood on my suit man, calm the fuck down."

Changbin wiped the blood that had splattered on to his chin with the back of his hand, flicking his eyes to look up at Chan with a deadly glare. "Want some of your own on it to match?"

"Maybe later," Chan shrugged nonchalantly, tipping the chair back roughly as the man whimpered, blood streaking down his face in different directions. 

"I swear I don't know, I fucking swear I don't know!" The man cried. "Nobody breathed a fucking word to a cop I swear!"

"Really?" Chan drawled, tipping the chair back further. "So none of you wanted a tiny taste of revenge by tipping off the cops about Morishuto?"

The man desperately shook his head. 

"Well for good measure," Changbin took his gun out shot straight at the man's chest, the bullet leaving a bloody patch blooming in his left breast pocket as his body went slack in the chair. 

For a split second, Chan was taken by surprise, unmoving out of sheer shock, but just as quickly as it set in, it vanished. He angrily pushed the weighted chair forward, with both it and the body crashing to the floor as he confronted Changbin.

"What the FUCK was that for?! There was no fucking need Changbin!"

"Well he clearly didn't have the information we were looking for." 

"The cops already arrested 5 of our guys over the Morishuto case and now you're killing one more of Akiro's men? The fuck man, do you WANT trouble?"

Changbin's face remained cold and emotionless as he stepped forward towards Chan, pressing his gun to his chest. 

"You really want to test me, Chan? Hm?" His voice was dark and dangerous, dripping with sadism. He pushed Chan backwards with the barrel of his gun, only for Chan to whip his own out faster than he could react, pressing the cold metal against Changbin's head. 

The two stood like that, eyes boring into each other, almost daring the other to pull the trigger. Changbin smirked. "You want to play Russian roulette, doll?" He pressed the gun deeper against Chan's chest, spitting the next words out through gritted teeth. "Let's fucking play." 

"I know your games Bin, first me and then the boss, eh?" Chan tilted his head to the side. "You think I don't know about Hikata? That you're the one who ordered the hit on Jeongin?"

Changbin's eyes flared with a mix of anger and shock, and that was all that Chan needed to continue. He scoffed, "real smart of you to contract a hit-woman that I was sleeping with. I know every detail of it Changbin, I know how much you offered her, I know the date of the operation, I know it all." 

He leaned in closer, trailing the gun down to the side of Changbin's neck, seeing the realization dawn on his face. "And I offered her more to botch the hit," he grinned maliciously against Changbin's ear. "Now I wonder what Mr Yang would say...or DO rather, if he knew that his most trusted right hand man tried to have him killed, hm?"

Changbin's eyes narrowed, the trigger on his gun starting to look all too tempting. "I could shoot you right where you fucking stand," he sneered. 

"Then do it." Chan dared, knowing he wouldn't.

Although Chan did know that Changbin had called an assassination of their boss, he had no solid proof. Hikata had already left the country and the incident was months ago, there was no way he could prove it, and he knew that Changbin knew this too.

Besides, he was only winding Changbin up over the accusation that he had sold them out to the police, knowing full well it wasn't Changbin. 

It couldnt be, after all, because it was Chan who had sold them out to Felix, giving him names of Cicada members to arrest, along with their locations, planting the gun Changbin used for the murder on one of the gang members. 

He could just as easily sell Changbin out too, but he didnt want to give Felix too much just yet, let him wait. 

After a few charged moments, Changbin withdrew the gun from Chan's chest, tucking it back into the holder at his hip, and Chan did the same with his. 

Just then, Changbin's phone rang, their boss on the other end.

"Well?" Came the voice on the other end, as Chan and Changbin walked to the car to get back to the penthouse. 

"Dead end." Changbin said, no pun intended. "He swore that they didn't breathe a word to the police."

At the other end of the phone, Jeongin was inspecting a shipment of cocaine that had just come in, a thin white line on his table for him to carry out his 'quality inspection'.

A careful snort, and then he replied to his men. "Let it be," he said with a blasé sigh. "We'll have to get those 5 who were arrested bumped off," he mused, his words laced with boredom, casually discussing this as if he was discussing what he wanted for his next meal. 

Changbin knew that was his forte, and mumbled his affirmation into the phone before Jeongin cut the line. As they crossed the threshold of the first floor of the building, Chan caught sight of a man at the other end of the abandoned warehouse whom he could've sworn he'd seen before. 

Brown hair, almond eyes, slightly upturned nose and a face that was devoid of any emotion. 

He did a double take, but the man was gone. He kept his thoughts to himself as he and Changbin clambered into the car, trying to place where he'd seen that man before. 

Then it suddenly hit him - he remembered that boy, the one they'd threatened; Jeongin burnt him with a cigarette.

The waiter. 

What the hell was he doing here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's not just Chan who's being disloyal to Cicada, it's Changbin too  
> Both of them are on a mission to dethrone Jeongin, but what are the repercussions of their attempts? Will either one of them succeed?
> 
> And what's Minho doing there?


	11. Chapter 11 - Warning Signs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucky or not was not the problem here. The problem was that Felix and Chan had a fucking deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been long since I updated! I'm shifting jobs so there's been alot of corporate, officey shit that I had to get done :3
> 
> Finally let off some steam and wrote this today, there's gonna be some real damn fireworks in the upcoming chapters, stay tuned!

Felix had appreciated Chan's tip-off about the 5 Cicada members he had arrested - their agreement seemed to be going swimmingly, although Felix couldn't ignore the nagging instinct at the back of his mind that he was being used as a ploy for something much larger. 

He had been sitting in his cubicle, legs cocked up on his table as he absently stared at the Cicada file he had opened up on his computer, arms folded across his chest and mulling over his own conscience, when Jisung had slapped a file on his legs, startling him out of his thoughts. 

"The gun found on one of the guys matched the bullet casings found at the Morishuto crime scene," he told him. "We got our guy!"

Felix smiled, a little guilty about the fact that he couldnt be open and upfront about it with Jisung - couldn't tell him how they'd been able to make the arrest. 

"How did this tip-off come through, anyway?" Jisung asked almost on cue, as if reading Felix's mind. 

Felix shrugged, carefully avoiding eye contact as he took the file from Jisung's hand to go through all the documents within. "A call came in to one of our main lines, we were lucky that I picked up."

Jisung hummed. "Yeah, real lucky." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Kinda suspicious considering you were tailed by Cicada a couple nights ago." 

Oh fuck. What direction was this going in?

"Are you sure nothing happened that night?" At this point, Jisung just sounded worried. 

Felix leaned forward and took Jisung's hand in his, a gesture that was rare ever since they broke up. "Ji, I'm fine, I promise you. The car tailing me was probably just a warning-"

He was cut off by what sounded like an explosion outside. 

The entire station erupted into controlled chaos, with Felix jumping out of his seat and Jisung in tow as they both rushed outside. On instinct, Felix had his gun drawn as he ran towards the source of the smoke, finding the entrance to the station car park in flames.

"Was anyone..." Felix began, asking the Chief who was already there as the sound of firetrucks echoed in the distance.

He shook his head. "The only casualties are a couple of unlucky cars. Fortunately nobody was in the car park when the bomb went off."

"Who the fuck would attack a damn police station?" Felix growled, only to hear Jisung answer him a few seconds later, holding out a scrap of paper in his hand. 

The insignia of an insect in the centre of the slightly charred paper told Felix all he needed to know. He could feel his temperature rising as ripples of rage spread through his chest. 

No, he couldn't lose it here. 

"Cicada is sending warning signs," Jisung innocently commented, pointedly looking at Felix, as if to indicate that this was connected to him being followed the other night. "Maybe we should cool down our investigations."

"That's exactly what they want us to do!" Felix barked, "you want the mob to think the police is weak?"

The Chief herded them away from the scene as the firefighters arrived to douse the flames. "This is probably retaliation for arresting a few of their members, we've been hot on their tail lately. That being said," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm not going to risk any of my officers getting hurt, or worse; just because of this."

He turned to Felix. "I'd suggest you take it a bit easy." When Felix opened his mouth to protest, the Chief held up a hand to silence him. "Continue your investigations, by all means, but do so quietly. We're lucky the parking lot was empty when the bomb went off."

He then added ominously: "This time."

Lucky or not was not the problem here. The problem was that Felix and Chan had a fucking deal. Once they had all gone back inside and things had returned to normalcy a bit, Felix picked up his phone and dialled the familiar, yet unsaved number as he found privacy in the empty cafeteria. 

Chan picked up after a couple rings, but Felix didn't even spare him a few seconds before he whisper-yelled into the phone; "What the fuck was that?!"

A few seconds of silence.

"Well, hello to you too Felix," came Chan's casual, unbothered voice. "And what the fuck was what, exactly?"

"Blowing up our fucking car park!"

"Relax babe, it wasnt even the whole car park, it was a tiny bomb, minimal damage, and I made sure that there was no one around before I set it off. What do you take me for, a monster?"

"Yeah real saint you are, aren't you," Felix sneered. "What do you mean YOU set it off? And don't call me babe, I'm not your boy toy."

He could hear Chan sigh on the other end, as if he was bored of the conversation while Felix was positively seething. "Look, my job is to scare the police off our case, specifically you since you've made such a big name for yourself digging into Cicada so much, so I gotta make it look like I'm messing with ya'll right? You're lucky it's me and not my partner, believe me, he's a fucking sadist - none of ya'll would be alive if he was the one on your tail. You're lucky it's just me."

"We had a deal."

"Ah yes, we have a deal. You help me, I help you. But I can't help you if I'm bumped off by my own gang now, can I? I need to make it look like I'm still getting the cops off our case."

Felix huffed, decidedly a little less pissed off now. As much as he hated to admit it, the man had a point. 

"Also," Chan continued. "There's something else I wanted to show you. You know the network of alleyways behind this block? The waste disposal routes?"

"Yeah?" Felix asked cautiously. 

"Right. Come to the one between the two abandoned buildings. You'll recognize the car easily enough."

"Now?"

"No babe, three days from now after you've had your donut with your afternoon coffee." Why did he have to be so damn sarcastic? "Yes now, I dont have all day, I have people to threaten."

Felix rolled his eyes. "Fine." He cut the line before Chan could get another word in, leaving through the back door of the building leading out from the cafeteria, straight towards the alleyways Chan was talking of. 

It was quite a walk, and Felix watched his back, careful to not be spotted, ducking evasively through interconnecting alleyways to get where he needed to be. He recognized the car packed in the shadows of the two blackened, aged buildings, and cautiously climbed into the back seat after Chan ha unlocked the doors, having spotted him approaching in the rearview mirror. 

He turned around to face the cop appraisingly. "So you want me to break my neck trying to talk to you? Couldnt you have just hopped in front?"

Felix crossed his arms over his chest. "And risk being seen in a car with a damn gangster? Fuck no."

Chan groaned. "Fair point." He picked up a folder from the dash and climbed out of the driver's seat, slotting himself into the back with Felix, who tried to ignore the overpowering hit of expensive cologne that seemed to waft off of the man. 

He opened up a file, one with pictures and a few documents of a very familiar face. "Now I know you wouldn't interrogate one of your own," Chan started, "but does this guy happen to be an undercover cop? Either from Beosheong or somewhere else?"

The guy in the picture was Lee Know, the waiter he'd interviewed over a week ago. "This guy's a waiter," Felix pointed out plainly. 

"I'll take that as a no then," Chan said, then scoffed, "and there's no chance he's just a waiter."

"What do you mean?"

"He's been tailing me for some time now. Noticed it at first around a week ago, then he started popping up a bit too frequently, way too often to be a coincidence, and in the vicinity of activity that ordinary citizens couldn't know about."

"So gang activity?"

"Basically. But I've never seen him around before, never heard of a Lee Know either."

"And how exactly is this my problem?"

"You may have a little bit more on your hands that just Cicada."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehehe theres lots that's gonna happen :3 thoughts? Predictions? Theories? Drop em in the comments!


	12. Chapter 12 - Dangerous Alliances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan raised his eyebrow, piecing the story together. "You killed him, didn't you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in a day! I've been excited with how the story is going :3 I've also been slacking off at work lmao
> 
> But Yessssss things are getting heated up now!

It had been an average day for Chan- that is, if you could consider average to be cleaning up a mess involving their drug dealing network and asking Felix to turn a blind eye to the whole thing. There'd been a brawl between Cicada's dealers and some independent agents over how the mob's dealing ring had fucked up their business.

Honestly, not Cicada's problem, not Chan's either, but when shots had been fired and bodies had fallen, he had to call in a favour to keep the thing under wraps. The bodies that had fallen were independent agents, and as far as the system could consider it, they were civilians. 

Cicada couldn't give less of a flying fuck how much evidence they left behind; it didnt matter if it painted itself as graffiti arrows pointing at the gang, but it was always smoother to run ops when you have a couple cops in your pocket. 

Chan had been walking towards the car he'd kept stationed in an abandoned car park just a short distance away from the scene where the whole brawl had happened. He'd just gotten a couple of low levels to dispose of the bodies, weapons and the competitors' drugs and was planning on heading back to his apartment when he happened to catch a shadow along an old fire exit in the car park.

He had his suspicions. 

He whistled along as he walked to his car, flicking a knife out of his inner coat pocket and into his hand in one fluid, barely noticeable movement, hiding the blade just under the tip of his long sleeve. His gun was locked and loaded at his hip, loosened in his holster for if he needed to pull it on someone. 

The single fluorescent tubelight overhead flickered almost ominously as he approached his car, the sense of danger enveloping him. But Chan didn't flinch - he thrived in danger, it was what he knew best. 

In the dim, ugly white illunination of the light above, he was able to just make out a second shadow from his own, stretching across the ground in front of him. Wasting no time, quicker than the flicker of the short circuiting bulb above him, Chan whipped his gun out and turned around, only to be met by a poised, familiar face, showing no sense of panic or surprise.

Also pointing a gun at Chan's own head. 

The two of them stood there, guns trained on each other, each completely in their element, adrenaline pumping bountifully in the face of danger. 

Chan smirked. "More than just a fucking waiter, that's for sure." 

The man said nothing, simply matched Chan's smirk, but unlike Chan, the cockiness and mischief didn't reach his eyes, which were cold and empty. 

"You're Aquila, aren't you?" Chan deduced, tilting his head to the side appraisingly. "Gotta say, I've never seen you around before."

"You're not supposed to."

"You wanna tell me why you've been following me?"

A beat of silence. Then, Minho lowered his gun. "I have information that would be of interest to you," he said as he put the gun back in the holster, throwing his hands up in front of him to show that they were empty before sidling up to Chan's car, leaning against the bonnet. 

Chan kept his gun trained on him though, not trusting a rival gang member as far as he could throw him. "And I'm supposed to trust you, why?"

Minho scoffed. "I never said anything about trust. I just have some information from Akiro that I think Cicada would be pretty pleased to hear."

Chan raised his eyebrow, piecing the story together. "You killed him, didn't you?"

Minho crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged, a little bit of the cockiness in his smirk reaching his eyes now. "You're smarter than you look." 

Deciding that the situation seemed safe enough, Chan returned his own gun to its holster. "Akiro wanted to pass a message?"

"No, I did. I know where the weapons are stashed. Aquila knows too. I figured, why not let Cicada in on the little secret too?"

"What kind of ploy is this? I'd always thought Aquila's ploys were clever but I don't see your play here. Enlighten me."

Minho snorted. "Don't play innocent, Bang Chan. You'd jump at the chance for Cicada to get fucked over, for Yang Jeongin to get fucked over, wouldn't you?" He cocked his head to the side. "After all, you've been feeding the police with plenty of information, especially that pretty blond one."

Fuck. 

Chan would be lying if he said that didn't scare him. If a rival gang member knew what he was upto, it was only a matter of time before Cicada got to know, before JEONGIN got to know.

"Relax, Chan," Minho said, as if he was reading his thoughts, his tone lying somewhere in the middle of genuine and mocking. "The only reason I know is because I made it a point to find out which Cicada member was the easiest to crack. This is between me and you, not Aquila, not Cicada, not Hyunjin or Jeongin."

He shifted his position, shuffling one foot in front of the other. "I want out. You want to get to the top. Both of us need to fuck our gangs over for us to get what we want, and what better way than for Aquila and Cicada to tear each other down?"

"You're proposing a gang war."

"I want Aquila burnt to ashes," Minho said, and Chan could almost see the fire of hatred burn in his eyes. 

Chan was tempted; this was perfect. He already had the cops, or well, Felix on his side. An underhand partnership with Aquila to tear the other gang down? Even better for him. He wouldnt have to do so much of the dirty work then, an all out gang war would get rid of Jeongin if he played his cards right.

"So what's your plan?" Chan asked. 

"Santano Theatre. That's where the weapons are being stored, ALL of them. Aquila is planning a raid in a few days to seize all the goods." He smirked. "Imagine if Cicada was to crash the party. Better yet, imagine if we invited the cops too."

Chan chuckled. "It would be a disaster."

"Chaos," Minho grinned, an evil glint in his eye. "And that would be just the beginning."

Chan was liking the sound of this more and more, but he needed to know that this partnership stood on solid ground. He needed to find some dirt on Minho too.

"How do I know you're not going to bait me?"

Minho shrugged. "Because I dont give a flying fuck about what Aquila wants anymore. Like I said, I want out, and I’ll get that however I have to. Besides, I’ve already told you where the weapons are hidden. You could raid the place before Aquila and we’d be none the wiser. Would I have done that if my only intention was to bait you?”

“I couldn’t possibly know if Santano Theatre itself wasn’t a trap lying in wait for us over the next few days.”

“For fucks sake Chan, we can go check it out right now if you don’t believe me!” Minho yelled, Chan’s indecisiveness grating on him now. “I could’ve easily fucked you over days ago when I found out about your deal with the cops, I could’ve shot you at any point today if I had wanted to. Believe me when I say, I want Aquila torn down and nothing more. And remember,” he said, pushing himself off the edge of the car and edging closer to Chan, until their faces were inches apart. “This is between you and me. Spread the message to Cicada about the Theatre, but breathe a fucking word to them about anything else-”

Minho’s insistence on keeping the gangs out of this was what sold it for Chan. That, and Minho’s sudden fiery reaction. The man had been calm and collected, almost dangerously so, over the course of their whole meeting. For him to have gotten annoyed like that showed that this was actually something he was serious about. 

Chan pressed a hand against his chest, pushing him away. “You have a deal.” 

And just like that, Minho’s entire demeanour changed. His face went from threatening to stonily calm in two seconds, a satisfied, yet dead smirk playing on his face again as he took a step back. “I’ll be in touch. Give Cicada and your cop-buddy the tip-off when I give the go ahead.”

Chan nodded, slotting his hand into Minho’s as they shook on it, his words dripping with venom despite the easy grin on his face.

“Any funny business, and I’ll slit your throat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyye Chan's plans are starting to look foolproof! But that being said, all that glitters ain't gold 👀


	13. Chapter 13 - Rivalries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'll have more than enough fun sticking a knife in you if a bullet is too boring, sweetheart."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to go right according to plan.....or are they?

There was a clatter of bronzed bullets against the oak table that Jeongin sat at, each gold chunk of metal leaving his careless fingers and hitting the wood with a thud, some rolling off on to the expensive wooden flooring. 

He sighed dramatically, "No good," he swept his arm against the casing that the ammunition had come in, knocking it clean off and letting it clatter to the floor with a cacophony of noise as his lackeys hurried to clear up the mess. He looked pointedly at Changbin. "Is this all that was there at the warehouse? Second rate shit? Are these the weapons I'm supposed to be arming my gang with?" 

He pushed his chair back and stood up as he crossed the expanse of their headquarters and safe house; a fine structure located far off into a secluded forest, uninhabited, unoccupied and deep enough within the trees that nobody would come looking for them. He walked towards the bulletproof glass French windows and looked out at the sea of leaf and wood in front of him as he clicked his fingers towards one of the lower level gang members.

The gang member immediately rose to attention as Jeongin brought his thumb and index finger together and then towards his lips, and anyone who'd worked under Jeongin knew that was indication that he wanted a joint rolled. The wordless instruction was followed with a deeply bowed head as the gangster pulled out the marijuana and rolling papers to give the boss what he wanted. 

Jeongin watched him impassively for a moment before shoving his hands in his pockets and turning to Changbin again. "Now I know that out of you two, Chan is the brains of the operation," he said, amused at the way that Changbin clenched his jaw at the backhanded insult. "But since our pretty little doll isnt here yet, I'm going to need you to do some digging around."

He spared a glance at the gang member who was now rolling up his joint, before returning to the conversation. "Find me another arms dealer, or better yet, find out the shipments coming in for the police and for Aquila. Intercept them," the lit joint was given to Jeongin and he took a long drag before exhaling and continuing, "do whatever the fuck you have to do but by the end of this week, I need a stock of weapons."

Changbin was about to confidently affirm when a voice carried across the room from the entrance. A voice that always irritated him and pissed him the fuck off even more now with what it had to say.

"None of that will be necessary, Boss," Chan said as he sauntered into the room, winking at Changbin as if to tell him that he'd already taken care of it; as if to tell Changbin that Jeongin was right, Chan WAS the brains behind everything.

"I did a little digging, found out where Akiro was keeping his stash."

Jeongin raised his eyebrow, blowing out smoke into Chan's face. "And? You're expecting me to read your mind?"

"Santano Theatre," Chan continued, unaffected. "Akiro owned the place. Apparently it's all stashed backstage, hidden in the props. The place has been closed ever since he got arrested, it's easy pickings for us."

"And just how the fuck do you know this?" Changbin aggressively spun him around by the shoulder to face him. He leaned in, sneering into Chan's face. "We got fuckall from that guy from the dealing ring that day and now suddenly you know where the weapons are? I call bullshit," he spat. 

"Well maybe," Chan remained even tempered. "If you hadn't shot the guy, he would've told us." He turned back to Jeongin. "Or maybe not. Only the higher ups knew where the main stock was stashed, the lower levels were only in the loop about when the shipments came in and the warehouses."

"So you mean to say nobody in the ring knew where the weapons were stored before being brought to the warehouse?" The end of Jeongin's blunt glowed a faint orange as he sucked in another intoxicating breath. "How did they load it up there in the first place? I dont see Akiro getting his hands dirty."

"They hired odd job johnnies, dockers and homeless people to transport and load up the stuff in the warehouse, all on one off instances to keep it a secret," Chan told him. "In the case that anything like this was to happen. If any of the hired help squealed," he turned to Changbin, imitating a gun going off with his hand, his lips pursed in a faint whistle, watching the steam practically leave Changbin's ears. 

"And how the fuck did you find out about this?" Changbin gritted his teeth.

Chan clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You need to know who to ask, Binnie, not everything is about putting a bullet through someone when you get pissed off." 

Quick as a flash, Changbin pulled out a knife from his inner jacket pocket and pressed it against Chan's ribs, not hard enough to tear the fabric of his clothes or to cause any damage, but hard enough for Chan to feel the sharp dig. Changbin's voice dropped to a sadistic murmur as he leaned in closer. "I'll have more than enough fun sticking a knife in you if a bullet is too boring, sweetheart."

Jeongin flicked his spent joint to the ground (a lower-level hurried to clean it off the floor), and rolled his eyes at his supposedly "best" men. "If the two of you can quit fucking threatening each other every few minutes we'd probably get shit done much faster. Changbin." 

The man in question lowered his weapon and turned to his boss, who regarded him with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Stab Chan or whatever fucking knife play you two are into if the Theatre doesn't check out. Chan," he said, regarding him now, "have you scoped the place out?"

Chan had already, two days ago with Minho, but he kept that to himself, knowing it might raise suspicion. 

"Not yet," he told the crime boss. 

Jeongin jerked his head at Changbin. "Both of you, go scope the place out. If everything is in place, we'll raid it tomorrow night."

Chan fought the urge to smirk. Perfect; the following night was when Aquila was planning their raid, everything was going just as planned. 

Changbin regarded Chan with burning eyes. This was more than just the other man constantly showing him up and being one step ahead, this was more than jealousy, more than just competition. This was suspicious, and Changbin was fucking sure of the fact that Chan was up to something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changbin is suspicious, surprisingly Jeongin doesn't see it yet. How exactly is the raid going to go down? What happens of the police get involved?


	14. Twisted Webs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'd rather have you alive and in the shadows than gone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And things are starting to get heated! This chapter was meant to be longer but I decided to divide it into two chapters. While this chapter delves a little deeper into the characters' backstories, the next chapter is well.....you'll see

After the deal with Chan had been made, Minho risked another visit to Seungmin, to tell him about what was going on. He found himself in front of his apartment this time, not sneaking in like he did on other occasions. There was mixed feelings bubbling like a cauldron in his chest; apprehension, nervousness, mixed with an almost blind sense of confidence that all of this was going to work out exactly how he wanted. 

Seungmin opened the door and sidled out as the sound of laughter and the recorded voices of a movie played over the surround-sound system in his apartment as he closed the door behind him - he had people over, Minho would have to make this fast.

"Min," Seungmin's eyes widened, he didn't think he'd see his brother again so soon. "Everything ok?"

"I'm doing it Seung," he said plainly. "I'm getting out of this mess, and I'm going to bring the whole damn gang down with me if that's what I have to do."

Seungmin crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the door. "Are you sure there's no other way? Isn't bringing the whole gang down at once sort of overkill? You might be punching above your weight here."

Minho shook his head. "I've worked something out. Besides, like I said, leaving a gang isn't as straightforward as you might think. We know too many secrets for us to just be allowed to walk freely." 

Seungmin pursed his lips for a second, mulling everything over in his head before he reached forward and wrapped Minho up in a hug. "Just be safe, okay? I don't know how all of this works Min, but I do know that dangerous doesnt even begin to cover it." He pulled away. "I'd rather have you alive and in the shadows than gone."

Minho scoffed. "I'm tougher than you think lil man," he said fondly, punching his brother lightly on the shoulder. "You take care of yourself ok? This is all going to be over soon."

After another goodbye, Minho's demeanour collapsed back into the cold exterior he so easily showed the world. He took the stairs down (the fire exit, because there were no cameras there), and left through a back entrance, only to bump straight into one of the last people he'd expect to see.

"So what's happening here then, Minho?" Chan asked, cocking his head to the side. 

"Fuck off," Minho said, pushing past him, only for Chan to grab his wrist harshly and spin him around. "You seemed awfully jittery getting here, something that's quite rare when it comes to you." He tightened his grip and narrowed his eyes. "If you're pulling a fast one on me you have another thing coming."

Minho wrenched his hand free, glaring at the rival gangster turned accomplice. "I'm not pulling shit. Why were you following me anyway? I said I'd meet you at the old swimming club."

"Rich coming from someone who followed me for a week." 

"I had to do my research."

"Yeah. So do I. I'm not blindly trusting fuck that you say."

Minho set his jaw but said nothing. As much as he hated to admit it, Chan had a point, so he decided to let it go. The only thing that irked him was the fact that Chan had seen him at Seungmin's apartment building. He turned around to walk away, in the direction of his vehicle. "Just keep the fact that you saw me here to yourself. I don't need to remind you of how fast I'd kill you if you put one toe out of line."

It was an odd inkling but, as much as it went against Minho's better judgement, a tiny part of him sort of trusted Chan.

The statement had confused Chan a bit though. If Minho had been playing him, he wouldnt essentially ask Chan to keep the whole matter secret. He knew for a fact that Minho didn't live here (he'd kept an eye on him after all), so if it wasn't where he lived, and it wasn't Aquila business, then what was he upto? He'd have assumed it was some double crossing nonsense if not for the fact that Minho wasn't even afraid of Chan knowing, he was afraid of AQUILA knowing. 

So he didn't say anything further, staring up at the apartment building and pondering over it instead. Minho already had dirt on Chan, he knew he was feeding information to the cops. This was Chan's best bet to get even. 

*

An hour later, Chan arrived at Santano Theatre with the theatre's blueprints that he had gotten from Minho. The theatre had been closed, only inhabited by some caretakers, but there was little that couldnt be accomplished with some bribes. 

A couple of bills stuffed into the caretakers pockets (which may have been more than their entire month's wage anyway) was enough for them to leave Chan and Changbin to their own devices in the theatre. 

Changbin had been watching Chan like a hawk as they pored over the blueprints which led them to where the weapons had been stashed - all in the props.  
A faux staircase that, when cracked enough by a couple of heavy hits from Changbin's crowbar, glinted from within with that familiar glimmer of bullets.

A wooden platform held together by industrial steel staples, that when pried open, were shown to house cases upon cases of handguns and automatic rifles. 

"Jackpot," Chan smirked at this find.

"I know what you've been upto," Changbin deadpanned. 

Chan kept his back turned to Changbin for a moment, then slowly turned around. "Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, patronizing him. God, Changbin hated when he did that, always fucking acting like he was better than him. 

"And what EXACTLY am I upto, Changbin?" He folded his arms and leaned against the wooden platform.

Honestly, Changbin had no clue. He was bluffing, but some inner instinct told him that everything that was happening lately was too convenient for Chan to have just STUMBLED upon, and if he didn't have the brains enough to figure it out, he was going to bluff until Chan let something slip. 

So Changbin smirked, coolly, something completely unlike his normal demeanor, which was brash and hot tempered. "We both know where you got those blueprints," he ventured. "Don't baby me, I wasn't born yesterday." 

Chan sighed, feigning tiredness. "Bin, you and I both know what this is about."

That was enough to throw him off. "What?"

Chan pushed himself off the platform, coming closer. Normally their close contact was accompanied by some sort of weapon but Chan was empty handed at the moment. "You're just tired of always coming in second, hm?" Chan cocked his head mockingly, in faux sympathy. "Always only being treated as the hitman, always only being viewed as the one who gets the killing done. Ah! But the thinking," Chan tapped at his temple for added effect. "Not so great there, now are we?"

"Fuck off, Chan."

"Oh you'd love that, wouldn't you? If I really did fuck off, so that you can kick Jeongin off his throne and take over this whole little empire by yourself." He leaned in closer, his eyes devilish. "You know Changbin, I wouldn't be surprised if you made me disappear, how come you haven't tried yet?"

Changbin had lost the plot, lost his momentum, lost his strategy and had now also lost his temper. Before he could spit out a rage filled response, Chan spoke again in that oh so cool and calm manner. "I know why though," he scoffed. "You really can't make it to the top without me, can you? You couldn't even find some A grade weapons when Jeongin asked before I interfered."

Now, someone like Minho, who had a clear head, would've been able to see that Chan was playing Changbin beautifully, but Changbin, on the other hand, was too impulsive. 

Before he could control himself, he grabbed Chan by the collar and forced him up against a wall. "Breathe, motherfucker, just fucking BREATHE another word and I swear I'll crush your fucking throat." 

But Chan remained emotionless, the look in his eyes almost lazy as he barely even lifted his hands to try and pry Changbin's off of him. He raised a cocky eyebrow, and honestly, with the amount he provoked Changbin, it really was a miracle he was still alive. 

But Chan knew exactly how to manipulate Changbin. He knew exactly what buttons to press, what nerves to scratch at; he knew just the right things to say and just the right things to do and the best part was, Chan always knew exactly how Changbin would react. The man was deadly, but predictable, and as far as Chan was concerned, that was enough to kill his lethality.

As predicted, the rage within Changbin dissipated, the reasoning behind it being Changbin's inner confusion behind the cause and consequence of his actions. 

He loosened his grip and let Chan go, huffing and adjusting his blazer as he made his way to the exit as Chan massaged slightly at the imprints on his neck; it did hurt after all. 

"We've seen all we have to see, let's go." 

Changbin may have lost today, he may have been in too much of a rage to think things through clearly, but one thing was sure - this wasn't the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changbin's gonna blow a fuse one of these days, Chan ought to watch out


End file.
